Ernie : I'm not 100 % convinced, either, but it is the best explanation I have seen to date. What does account for the complete absence of Nobel science awards from Muslim universities ? Also Bernard Lewis' observation about the fact that annual translations into Arabic of other books ( presumably ditto for journals ) is about the same as translations into Spanish published in Spain alone . Not sure if this is a fair comparison since I would guess that a lot of books translated in Spain end up in places like Mexico or Argentina. Still, the point is well taken. Scholarship in the Muslim world is at least 50 years behind the West and maybe also "the Rest." And maybe by more than 50 years. There is just no way that Islam isn't responsible for a good part of this problem --which may not even be perceived as a problem among many Muslim populations. Not my observation, but seems true enough, Islam is essentially medieval in character. NOT all Arabs are in this boat, of course, especially not the Gulf states, but otherwise it seems more true than otherwise. Billy ----------------------------------------------- In a message dated 11/3/2009 11:32:05 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, [email protected] writes:
Hi Billy, On Nov 3, 2009, at 9:09 AM, [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) wrote: IN THE late 19th century, a reform movement emerged in the Muslim world. It recognized that for Muslims to embark on an age of renaissance, modern sciences must be embraced. Reformists endeavored to convince Muslims that modern sciences do not contradict Islam - and were quite successful in doing so. This school, developed by Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and Muhammad Abduh, is often mistakenly described as liberal; in fact, its primary goal was to defend Islam against Western hegemony. It aspired to offer a theological framework that would allow Muslims to be part of modernity without compromising their belief in the comprehensive essence of Islam. The one thing these reformers never intended to do was to release society from the shackles of religious scriptures monopolized by religious establishments. And ironically enough, it is exactly because Afghani and Abduh's relatively modern and relatively tolerant school of thought became so influential - appeasing the minds of so many Muslims that religion can indeed encompass every aspect of modernity - that the Arab intellectual world is still locked in a spirit of taboo and fear. Some 100 years ago, it was possible, although risky, for an Arab to doubt whether the Koran was a divine text. Any Arab who does so today would be signing his own death warrant. Sadly enough, many contemporary Western intellectuals also think twice before discussing Muslim creed. Where particular aspects of life, such as religion, cannot be openly debated, thorough scientific investigation is impossible. Fascinating. I wasn't familiar with the al-Afghani and Abduh reforms. This article implies that "moderate" reforms may actually inoculate a culture against genuine reforms. Not sure I fully believe it, but it is a sobering possibility. -enp = _______________________________________________ Centroids mailing list: [email protected] http://radicalcentrism.com/mailman/listinfo/centroids_radicalcentrism.com Archives at http://radicalcentrism.org/pipermail/centroids_radicalcentrism.com/
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